My HP Reverb G2 has died - what next?

[Russkly]

My HP Reverb G2's playing up. Lenses blacking out intermittently; first one, then the other. Then they both come back on; and then the same thing recurs. Over and over again.

Happens in Il2 and even in WMR Home.

No software changes, no hardware changes. Just started happening a few days ago. Seems that many Reverb users have had/are having the same problem, but there also seems to be no universal cause or solution.

Bought a new cable from Amazon for £88 (HP Store UK never has any stock, even though they're cheaper at £59), but the problem persists.

HP support useless, as it's one month past warranty cover (yes, one month).

So, my £650 Reverb is now an ornament and I'm out of VR entirely.

What does the community recommend in terms of another headset? HP is out, totally out for me, so where next?

 

Appreciate all advice based on what you guys are using/have used successfully, please.

[firdimigdi]

Can't help with your query, but if this happens after a while and not straight up when you power it on I've read about people encountering this with G2s due to overheating. There was one fellow who traced it to the bluetooth module that's on the headset being the source of it, in his write-up (which I cannot find atm) he proved it by physically removing the bluetooth module. Not sure if not pairing the controllers or disabling the bluetooth via device manager would alleviate this.

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by firdimigdi
clarification

[Stolle]

Could this be related to the high volume setting problem? 

[Russkly]

1 hour ago, firdimigdi said:

Can't help with your query, but if this happens after a while and not straight up when you power it on I've read about people encountering this with G2s due to overheating. There was one fellow who traced it to the bluetooth module that's on the headset being the source of it, in his write-up (which I cannot find atm) he proved it by physically removing the bluetooth module. Not sure if not pairing the controllers or disabling the bluetooth via device manager would alleviate this.

 

 

Interesting, thanks.

 

I'm going to reset Windows tomorrow (PITA), but if that doesn't work, I might go nuclear and pull the thing apart!

24 minutes ago, Stolle said:

Could this be related to the high volume setting problem? 

 

Unfortunately not.

 

I've updated the firmware to address that issue and have tried with volume off completely.

[Voyager]

What budget you looking at, what PC hardware do you currently have, and what use cases are you looking for? That will bound things a good bit. 

 

Also, what is your fiddly bits threshold? I'm guessing pretty low at this point. 

Edited May 27, 2023 by Voyager

[firdimigdi]

1 hour ago, Russkly said:

Interesting, thanks.

 

I'm going to reset Windows tomorrow (PITA), but if that doesn't work, I might go nuclear and pull the thing apart!

 

For what it's worth, I found the write-up I mentioned above:

 

[Russkly]

1 hour ago, Voyager said:

What budget you looking at, what PC hardware do you currently have, and what use cases are you looking for? That will bound things a good bit. 

 

Also, what is your fiddly bits threshold? I'm guessing pretty low at this point. 

 

1. GBP600-700 max

2. 3080Ti + i9 11900

3. Flight sims only - Il2, CloD, MSFS

 

I suppose I'm looking at Quest 2.

 

Valve Index too expensive; Pimax 8KX too expensive; HTC not sure about; Pico not sure about; Varjo too expensive.

 

With lots of new headsets slated to be released this year, it's kind of tricky to know where to go.

32 minutes ago, firdimigdi said:

 

For what it's worth, I found the write-up I mentioned above:

 

 

Thanks, firdimigdi.

 

I'm going to try a Windows reset tomorrow to see if's perhaps a WMR issue (tried reinstalling it, but software download kept freezing at 60%), but if that doesn't work, I'll go nuclear and try to remove the Bluetooth chip, which I don't need anyway, because I don't use the controllers.

[Guest]

The Pico4 is superb once it's all set up (running with a LAN cable to the router and powered from a mains phone-charger). It's basically a much-improved G2 and at a sensible price too.

[Russkly]

9 hours ago, Hetzer-JG51 said:

The Pico4 is superb once it's all set up (running with a LAN cable to the router and powered from a mains phone-charger). It's basically a much-improved G2 and at a sensible price too.

 

Thanks, Hetzer.

 

I've taken a look at some reviews, and it seems to be a solid option at a good price.

 

Do you have to play with a LAN cable attached and the charger plugged in?

[TimSell75]

46 minutes ago, Russkly said:

 

Thanks, Hetzer.

 

I've taken a look at some reviews, and it seems to be a solid option at a good price.

 

Do you have to play with a LAN cable attached and the charger plugged in?

 

Make sure to connect the Pico via Wifi 6, when possibely by an exclusive access point. That changed mine from unplayable (high latency) to great! Other than that it is the best bang for the bug you cn get and it is extreme comfortable.

 

What I also highly recommend is the BoboVR P4 Set. It is high qualityand gives you almost indefinite playing time without charging.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Russkly said:

 

Thanks, Hetzer.

 

I've taken a look at some reviews, and it seems to be a solid option at a good price.

 

Do you have to play with a LAN cable attached and the charger plugged in?

At the high rez I'm running I found latency issues playing it over wifi (too much data being streamed even with a top-spec router).

The charger gets rid of all the battery BS. I did buy the Bobo4 kit but all it does now is balance the headset nicely.

[Voyager]

@Russkly If you are willing to consider used hardware, you might look at the pricing of used Valve Index kit. The headset itself has good optics, and while it is getting a bit long in the tooth, if you can get a full kit with the light houses and the grips, you've got a lower cost of entry for other outside in tracking headsets. 

 

A used VIve Pro 2 would be another option. I'm seeing those kits for similar prices as the Index kits. Cliffs of Dover used to have issues with them, but it looks like that's been resolved now.